"The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" The Nutcracker and the Mouse King Description of the mouse king from the fairy tale The Nutcracker
Benjamin Stahlbaum
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Medical advisor, father of Louise, Fritz and Marie. In the fairy tale and most film adaptations, his name is not mentioned.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms stars Benjamin Stahlbaum, a recently widowed father trying to cope with the loss of his wife. He loves his dead wife very much, and is worried that Clara takes his attempts at rapprochement with hostility.
Hawthorne
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The Lord Regent of the Land of Flowers is only slightly involved in the film's narrative. It is mentioned that Marie Stahlbaum was the second to discover his country.
Frau Stahlbaum (Marie Stahlbaum)
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Mother of Louise, Fritz and Marie Stahlbaum.
Like the father of the family, Mr. Stahlbaum, in most film adaptations, as in the fairy tale, her name is not mentioned. However, in the film adaptation of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Mrs. Stahlbaum is given the name "Marie". In this film, Clara's mother, the inventor who created the world of the Four Kingdoms, died shortly before the start of the story. She is beloved both within her family and throughout the Four Kingdoms, where she is considered a queen.
Klerchen
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The new doll, given to Marie for Christmas, was forced to give up her bed to the wounded Nutcracker.
Christoph Drosselmeyer
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Cousin of the royal watchmaker Christian Elias Drosselmeyer, toy maker, woodcarver, varnisher and gilder. One Christmas Eve they paid him with a Krakatuk nut.
Loise Stahlbaum
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Older sister of Marie and Fritz Stahlbaum.
She is also an episodic character in the film “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” as well as her entire family, trying to cope with the loss of her mother, trying to support her father.
Marie Stahlbaum (Clara Stahlbaum)
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The seven-year-old daughter of medical adviser Stahlbaum, who received a Nutcracker doll as a gift and, with her love for him, overcame the evil spell.
Her age varies in different canons, and most often she is presented as older than in the fairy tale. Sometimes called Clara.
In the film "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" - the daughter of an inventor, also has a penchant for technology. On the first Christmas after his mother's death, he experiences her death and quarrels with his father. With the help of her godfather, she finds her way to the magical kingdom created by her mother.
Mother Ginger
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Lord Regent of the Kingdom of Entertainment, who has sheltered on her lands the community of intelligent mice “The Mouse King”. Doesn't get along well with the other three kingdoms and is considered a traitor.
Mauserinks
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Queen of the Mouse Kingdom, mother of the Mouse King
Mäusekönig
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The seven-headed son of Queen Myshilda, the enemy of the Nutcracker, who threatened Marie that he would eat the Nutcracker.
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The Lord Regent of the Land of Snowflakes practically does not participate in the film's narrative. Marie Stahlbaum was the third to discover his country.
Pantalone
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A puppet general who helped the Nutcracker in his battle with the Mouse Army.
Pirlipat
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Princess, the most beautiful in the world. She was bewitched by Myshilda, and became more and more uglier. The only way out for her was to eat the kernel of the Krakatuk nut.
Sugar Plum Fairy
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A character who appeared in the ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. A magical creature that appears in the Magic Land, where the Nutcracker takes Clara after defeating the Mouse King.
In the 2019 film, he is an important character for the narrative. Fairy, Lord Regent of the Kingdom of Sweets. The most emotional of the regents, she was very friendly to Clara, even doing her hair before the ball. For the safety of the Four Kingdoms, he asks Clara to return the key to the revitalizing machine in order to create an army for protection.
Benjamin Stahlbaum
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Medical advisor, father of Louise, Fritz and Marie. In the fairy tale and most film adaptations, his name is not mentioned.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms stars Benjamin Stahlbaum, a recently widowed father trying to cope with the loss of his wife. He loves his dead wife very much, and is worried that Clara takes his attempts at rapprochement with hostility.
Hawthorne
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The Lord Regent of the Land of Flowers is only slightly involved in the film's narrative. It is mentioned that Marie Stahlbaum was the second to discover his country.
Frau Stahlbaum (Marie Stahlbaum)
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Mother of Louise, Fritz and Marie Stahlbaum.
Like the father of the family, Mr. Stahlbaum, in most film adaptations, as in the fairy tale, her name is not mentioned. However, in the film adaptation of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Mrs. Stahlbaum is given the name "Marie". In this film, Clara's mother, the inventor who created the world of the Four Kingdoms, died shortly before the start of the story. She is beloved both within her family and throughout the Four Kingdoms, where she is considered a queen.
Klerchen
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The new doll, given to Marie for Christmas, was forced to give up her bed to the wounded Nutcracker.
Christoph Drosselmeyer
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Cousin of the royal watchmaker Christian Elias Drosselmeyer, toy maker, woodcarver, varnisher and gilder. One Christmas Eve they paid him with a Krakatuk nut.
Loise Stahlbaum
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Older sister of Marie and Fritz Stahlbaum.
She is also an episodic character in the film “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” as well as her entire family, trying to cope with the loss of her mother, trying to support her father.
Marie Stahlbaum (Clara Stahlbaum)
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The seven-year-old daughter of medical adviser Stahlbaum, who received a Nutcracker doll as a gift and, with her love for him, overcame the evil spell.
Her age varies in different canons, and most often she is presented as older than in the fairy tale. Sometimes called Clara.
In the film "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" - the daughter of an inventor, also has a penchant for technology. On the first Christmas after his mother's death, he experiences her death and quarrels with his father. With the help of her godfather, she finds her way to the magical kingdom created by her mother.
Mother Ginger
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Lord Regent of the Kingdom of Entertainment, who has sheltered on her lands the community of intelligent mice “The Mouse King”. Doesn't get along well with the other three kingdoms and is considered a traitor.
Mauserinks
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Queen of the Mouse Kingdom, mother of the Mouse King
Mäusekönig
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The seven-headed son of Queen Myshilda, the enemy of the Nutcracker, who threatened Marie that he would eat the Nutcracker.
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The Lord Regent of the Land of Snowflakes practically does not participate in the film's narrative. Marie Stahlbaum was the third to discover his country.
Pantalone
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A puppet general who helped the Nutcracker in his battle with the Mouse Army.
Pirlipat
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Princess, the most beautiful in the world. She was bewitched by Myshilda, and became more and more uglier. The only way out for her was to eat the kernel of the Krakatuk nut.
Sugar Plum Fairy
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A character who appeared in the ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. A magical creature that appears in the Magic Land, where the Nutcracker takes Clara after defeating the Mouse King.
In the 2019 film, he is an important character for the narrative. Fairy, Lord Regent of the Kingdom of Sweets. The most emotional of the regents, she was very friendly to Clara, even doing her hair before the ball. For the safety of the Four Kingdoms, he asks Clara to return the key to the revitalizing machine in order to create an army for protection.
E. T. A. Hoffman “The Nutcracker”. Many of us are familiar with this fairy tale from early childhood, others learned about it through cartoons or attending the ballet. One way or another, the story of the prince turned into a toy is known to almost everyone. Let's talk about this work in more detail.
About the product
Hoffmann published the fairy tale “The Nutcracker” in 1816 in the collection “Children's Tales.” When creating the work, the writer was greatly influenced by the children of his friend, who bore the names Marie and Fritz. This is exactly what Hoffmann called his main characters.
"The Nutcracker": summary. The beginning
It is December 25th, the children of Stahlbaum, a medical adviser, Marie and Fritz, are sitting in their bedroom and waiting for gifts that stand under the Christmas tree in the living room. The girl eagerly wants to know what her godfather will come up with for her this year - he made a toy for Marie every Christmas with his own hands. However, the girl understands that her parents' gifts are much better, since they are not taken away immediately after the holiday.
Children find many gifts under the tree. Among other things, Marie notices a toy designed for cracking nuts, which was made in the form of a smartly dressed man. At this moment we meet the main character of the fairy tale “The Nutcracker”. The summary, unfortunately, cannot convey the girl’s joy at the sight of this toy. Marie took him under her wing and allowed him to crack only the smallest nuts. However, Fritz deliberately selected the largest and hardest ones, which led to damage to the toy. Then the girl hid the Nutcracker from Fritz and carried it with her all the time.
The Mouse King Appears
We continue to describe the summary of “The Nutcracker”. One evening Marie plays with dolls for too long. Her brother goes to bed, the girl remains alone in the room. When the clock strikes midnight, a muffled rustling begins in the living room, and mice appear from everywhere. A huge seven-headed mouse wearing crowns emerges from under the floor - the Mouse King. Marie presses herself against the wall in fear. The mouse army begins to attack her.
Marie breaks the closet door, scaring the rodents. But the broken cabinet immediately begins to glow. The toys come to life. The Nutcracker gathers an army and leads it into battle with the mice.
The battle begins. At first, the army of toys moves forward successfully. But gradually the mice begin to win. The toys suffer heavy losses, and their generals retreat. The Nutcracker ends up in the clutches of the enemy. The Mouse King rushes at him, but Marie, wanting to save her favorite toy, throws her shoe right at the leader of the rodents.
After this, the girl loses consciousness.
Fairy tale
The work “The Nutcracker” tells the story of a little girl (a summary is presented in this article).
So Marie regains consciousness in her bed. Next to her is Dr. Wendelstern. A mother appears and scolds the girl for her self-will. Marie learns that she was found covered in blood among scattered toys, and she was clutching a Nutcracker in her hand. The adults, having heard the girl’s story about what happened at night, thought that she had imagined everything.
Marie spends several days in bed. The godfather comes to the girl and brings the “cured” Nutcracker. He asks Marie to forget about the mice and tell a story.
“The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” has an interesting structure. Essentially, this is a fairy tale within a fairy tale. Such a technique is typical only for a literary work and is impossible in folk art.
The story of the little princess Pirlipat begins. A holiday was being prepared in the kingdom, but the mice climbed into the pantries and ate the lard for the sausages. The court watchmaker Drosselmeyer set mousetraps in which many rodents died. Then Myshilda, the mouse queen, turned the princess into an ugly creature. Then the court astrologer calculated that only the Krakatuk nut, which could be cracked by only one young man, could restore the beauty of Pirlipat.
Drosselmeyer and the astrologer soon found the nut. But not a single prince managed to gnaw it. Then Drosselmeyer's nephew took up the matter. The young man helped the princess regain her beauty, but Myshilda prevented the completion of the ceremony. The old mouse died, but turned the young man into the Nutcracker. The astrologer predicted that the young man's curse would end the moment a beautiful girl fell in love with him and he would defeat the Mouse King.
Marie's torment
Marie believes that this story really happened. Now she understands why the Nutcracker and the Mouse King had to fight. The Mouse King comes to the girl and begins to blackmail her, demanding sugar dolls and marzipan. Then Fritz invites his sister to borrow the baker’s cat for a while, and his father asks him to simply set up mousetraps.
The Mouse King torments Marie again. He asks her to give him a beautiful Christmas dress and a picture book. Then the girl complains to the Nutcracker - soon she will have nothing left, and then she will have to give herself up. After this, the toy comes to life and asks him not to worry about anything and get a saber for him. The next night, the Nutcracker challenges the Mouse King to a fight, wins and brings Marie his seven crowns.
Denouement
The fairy tale “The Nutcracker” is coming to an end. The main character, in the guise of a doll, leads Marie to a wardrobe, from where they find themselves in a magical land. The Nutcracker takes the girl to the Pink Lake and introduces her to her beautiful sisters, whom she helps pound golden nuts in a mortar.
Marie wakes up and her parents laugh at her bizarre dreams. One day, while talking with her godfather, the girl admits that she would never have abandoned the Nutcracker because of her ugliness. After these words, a crash is heard. In fright, the girl falls from her chair. The curse is broken. A beautiful young man appears in front of Marie, who proposes to her, and a year later they leave for the Doll Kingdom.
The heroine of the fairy tale “The Nutcracker”
Marie is a little girl who is full of compassion, kindness, determination and courage. She is the only one who manages to unravel the true essence of the Nutcracker. That is why Marie takes the toy under her protection. The girl's sincere feelings save the main character.
On Christmas Eve, Marie and Fritz, in an atmosphere of mystery “... no lamps were brought into the room, as was expected on Christmas Eve,” dreamed of their godfather’s gifts. Marie - “...my godfather told me about a beautiful garden... there is a big lake, miraculously beautiful swans with golden ribbons on their necks swim on it,... then a girl will come out of the garden and feed them...” The garden is an image of ideal peace, harmony and order . The lake, according to myths and legends, is a magical place. Water symbolizes the feminine principle. The swan is a romantic symbol of pure love, inseparability, but at the same time - death and transformation. According to Friedel Lenz, “instinctive, pure, very strongly hidden essential force.” Drosselmeyer turns to Marie's inner, spiritual powers. Establishes faith in a miracle, expectation and anticipation of it. Creates a beautiful image of the future (Marie will find everything predicted by Drosselmeyer in the magical Puppet World of Prince Nutcracker). Drosselmeyer himself symbolizes the difficult path that must be taken to get to the wonderful lake “he was a small, dry man with a wrinkled face...” The story of the lake and swans is found in German fairy tales, for example, in the Museum “Swan Pond” (according to one version, the plot of this tale is in based on the ballet “Swan Lake”) speaks of Marie’s involvement in the world of subtle reality, of her chosenness.
Hoffmann was an artist in the broadest sense. His main passion was music. He was not just a talented performer and conductor, but also the author of several musical works. It is no coincidence that based on Hoffmann’s fairy tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” Marius Petipa created the libretto and choreography, and P.I. Tchaikovsky created the music, and in 1892 the ballet “The Nutcracker” appeared on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. It seems that the fairy tale is written not just with words, but it already has sound, rhythm, melody. Hoffmann did not write it as a ballet libretto, but that is what it looks like. There is mystery, and love, and the struggle between good and evil, and a wonderful divertissement at the end. Music initially lives in this fairy tale and turns it into a special magical work of art.
Drosselmeyer's very first gift on this Christmas evening was “a wonderful castle with many mirrored windows and golden towers inside which tiny graceful figures moved. The children really wanted to play with the castle and change the order in which the little men moved. But Drosselmeyer says: “None of this is possible. The mechanism is made once and for all, you can’t change it.” Such a gift is not for playing, it can be broken, it is for looking at and admiring. This is a lesson in acceptance - this happens in life - you can’t change anything, but you can understand the patterns.
Drosselmeyer is the central figure of the fairy tale, connecting different spaces and times. He is a longtime friend of the Stahlbaum family, senior court adviser, godfather of Marie and Fritz; and at the same time the royal watchmaker and wizard; and also a great skill in making intricate toys - a master who has achieved such perfection in his art that what he has made with his hands comes to life. Drosselmeyer is not outwardly attractive, strict and demanding, and impartial. On the eve of all the extraordinary events, Marie sees him on the clock instead of an owl and is very scared. With his appearance, he marks the border between worlds. In everyday reality, a gilded owl sits on the clock; as soon as the clock strikes 12, Drosselmeyer appears there. The owl is a symbol of wisdom, but also of witchcraft, a night bird; in medieval Western Europe it was believed that witches could turn into owls. Drosselmeyer appears instead of the owl and seems to warn Marie: “Don’t be afraid, but be careful!” For Marie, Drosselmeyer is the godfather, and just as the fairy godmother gives Cinderella a royal ball and a happy meeting with the prince, Drosselmeyer gives Marie a fairy-tale world and a meeting with the Nutcracker. He embodies the image of the Sage.
Drosselmeyer tells the children the "tale of the hard nut." The tale describes the conflict between the kingdom of Princess Pirlipat's parents and the world of Myshilda's mice. Myshilda eats the lard intended for the “sausage feast”, the king takes revenge on her, and Myshilda casts a spell on the princess. But the princess’s appearance is amazing from the very beginning “... no more beautiful baby was born than the princess... and she was born with two rows of pearl-white teeth, with which two hours after birth she dug into the finger of the Reich Chancellor...” Teeth are the oldest emblem of aggressive force . Hoffman very subtly unites all these characters (both mice and men) into the “world of critters” who adore “sausage feasts” and makes it clear that, in essence, there is no difference between them.
German Christmas is unthinkable without traditional succulent sausages. For residents of Germany, sausage is a symbol of home, prosperity, and stability that came from the Middle Ages. By eating lard for sausages, Myshilda thereby encroached on the foundations of the kingdom. Another tradition is a variety of Christmas sweets, references to which are filled throughout the entire fairy tale. In wealthy German families, sugar figurines lingered for a long time; they stood like figurines in high sideboards. Marzipan, sugar dolls, dragees, gingerbread men, caramels and at the end of the fairy tale a whole sweet magical world - the Doll Kingdom with the Almond-Raisin Gate, the Christmas Forest, the Almond Milk Lake with Lombardy nut fish, the Candied Grove, the Candy Meadow and the village of Gingerbread. All this is the height of confectionery art. Hoffmann contrasts the satiety of the “sausage feast” with the beauty and grace of the “land of sweets,” which is a real work of art.
Drosselmeyer, the court watchmaker and wizard, was ordered to “restore the princess to her former appearance, or at least indicate the correct means for this - otherwise he will be put to a shameful death at the hands of the executioner.” Together with the court astrologer, they find a way to deliver the princess. “For Pirlipat, it is enough to eat the kernel of the Krakatuk nut. This hard nut had to be chewed and, with his eyes closed, presented to the princess by a man who had never shaved or worn boots. Then the young man had to step back seven steps without stumbling, and only then open his eyes.” The nut is a symbol of wisdom, but also of supernatural powers; it is used in witchcraft and is believed to bring good luck to lovers. After going through many trials, the Nutcracker will indeed find his love, but in the story of Pirlipat, luck will turn away from him.
One of the conditions is “not having shaved or wearing boots.” Shoes are generally associated with the presence of some point of view, that is, you need a very young, inexperienced, naive young man, on the other hand, capable of cracking a very hard nut.
The condition regarding the 7 steps perhaps points to the 7 main masculine archetypes. According to Pythagoras, who said: “Everything in the world is numbers,” numbers can be collectively considered as the active forces that order and regulate the Universe. In general interpretation, odd numbers are the personification of the masculine principle, positive and active. In the Bible, 7 represents integrity and rules time and space. For Kabbalists, this is firmness, personifying victory. The Nutcracker stumbles on the seventh step - he fails the last test, and the princess's ugliness transfers to him. Which test is the most difficult? Judging by the fact that now his fate depends on the outcome of the battle with the mouse king, the Nutcracker lacks firmness - “the strength of war.” The fact that Pirlipat turns away from him is for the better; why does the Nutcracker need an outwardly beautiful, but spiritually ugly princess.
The number 7 in this tale continues to appear - the seven-headed mouse king, 7 golden crowns presented to Marie as a sign of the Nutcracker's victory over the mouse king. Since the number “seven” (heptad) includes a triad and a tetrad - heaven (divinity) and earth (humanity), it means cosmic order and the Nutcracker, through his actions, restores the order disrupted by the omnipotence of mice.
There is another subtlety to this story. Drosselmeyer and the astrologer find both the nut and the one who will gnaw it, but the king is informed only about the nut. They hatch a cunning plan: “...after many have broken their teeth on a nut to no avail, the king will give the princess, and after death, the kingdom as a reward to the one who cracks the nut...” The Nutcracker’s actions turn out to be self-interest and calculation, Evil triumphs - The Nutcracker is enchanted, and instead of Myshilda, a seven-headed mouse king appears. The seven-headedness is a strengthening of the image, “seven” is also a symbol of revenge, Myshilda says: “...my son, the mouse king, will not forgive my death - the army of the mouse will take revenge on you for your mother...” The image of the mouse carries ancient archetypal forces. The cannibal and the devil often turned into a mouse. Perhaps the seven heads of the mouse king represent the seven deadly sins. But in Christianity the number of mortal sins and cardinal virtues is equal. Thus, the Mouse King and the Nutcracker form a pair of opposites - “evil-good”.
The Nutcracker managed to crack the hard Krakatuk nut, here the symbolism is “knowledge of the essence.” The image of a nut is often found in mythological literature. A characteristic property of nuts is that they have a very hard shell, and therefore cannot be eaten without breaking through it. This is one of the very first types of food of mankind. In medieval mythology, the nut was a symbol of Christ, His Teachings, because outwardly it seemed very tough, but if a person managed to delve deeper into it, it became beneficial and useful. This is how church ministers interpreted the image of a nut in the Middle Ages. “The image of a nut in a certain context can be associated with the Self or with the wholeness aspect of the unconscious” (Marie-Louise von Franz)
The German expression "hard nut" denotes a difficult task, difficult situation or circumstance. In England and Germany there is a metaphor: solving a problem means cracking a nut. This is an important skill and the price for it is appearance. The Nutcracker bravely accepts limitations while maintaining firmness, confidence, royal dignity and faith in the future.
From Wikipedia: “The Nutcracker is a doll made of metal or wood, designed to crack a nut shell.” The material from which the Nutcracker in the fairy tale is made is wood. Its main properties are animate, durable, healthy, amenable to processing. These properties are more likely of a spiritual nature, since physically the hero experiences pain, cold, and fatigue. Many fairy tales mention dolls made of wood - Pinocchio, Pinocchio, wooden soldiers of Oorfene Dzhus. There are myths about the creation of man from wood and about God merging with the world tree. Perhaps the Nutcracker, by virtue of his origin, is part of the world tree, which is why the rightness of the hero in the fairy tale is felt from the very beginning.
The world tree serves to connect different worlds. Marie and the Nutcracker are transported to the Doll Kingdom through the “old huge wardrobe.” “The Nutcracker very deftly climbed up the ledge of the cabinet and the carvings...immediately a graceful ladder of cedar wood descended from the sleeve of the fur coat.” At the end of the fairy tale, the ideal will not be beauty and harmony, but the principles of goodness and perseverance inherent in man by nature.
Hoffmann's work resembles a painted nesting doll - inside one fairy tale another one is found, and in it another... The events of the fairy tale unfold in several realities at the same time (Types of reality. Pronina E.E.). Using the typology of realities and the image of a clock, the development of the plot of the fairy tale can be represented as movement along clockwise.
1. This is the actual reality. There are people here - Marie, her parents, Drosselmeyer... dolls - the Nutcracker, soldiers... animals - ordinary house mice that gnaw on everything.
2. This is real virtuality. She has her own special place in the fairy tale - a tall glass cabinet for toys in the living room. Marie plays with Christmas gifts, and at midnight, with the striking of the clock, she moves into the world of a fairy tale.
3. This is virtuality. Here everyday things are transformed into a special world of magic and mystery. Masha is no longer just a girl - she has a magical gift - she is able to resist the almighty mouse king. The Nutcracker is an enchanted prince. The Mouse King is not just a rodent, but a fantastic beast-like creature that poses a threat to people.
4. This is virtual reality. After participating in the battle between the puppet and mouse worlds, Marie is convinced that the story of the Nutcracker is genuine, and in the confrontation with the mouse king, much will depend on her.
Marie's parents always operate in reality. They do not believe the extraordinary stories that Marie tells, attributing them to fantasies, illness or dreams; in the end, they prohibit “fiction and stupid jokes,” calling Marie a liar. Drosselmeyer is someone who knows how to create the game world himself, a skilled craftsman who knows how to make “intricate toys.” The figure of Drosselmeyer is the most mysterious; he appears both in reality and in fairy tales, everywhere possessing special knowledge and capabilities. Marie gradually moves from the world of reality to a fairy tale and in the end her wildest dreams come true: “... a year later he took her away in a golden carriage drawn by silver horses... and Marie, as they say, is still the queen in a country where, if only You have eyes, you will see sparkling candied fruit groves, transparent marzipan castles everywhere - in a word, all sorts of miracles and wonders.”
Conclusion
The male archetypal plot contained in the fairy tale is the acquisition of strength by war. According to the classification of T.D. Zinkevich-Evstigneeva identifies seven main male archetypes - Warrior, Philosopher (teacher), Merchant (hunter), Peasant, Monarch, Monk, Slave (servant). These are ancient models of male behavior, ways of male self-realization in society.
A warrior creates in a man the desire to fight and win. The power of war in a man makes it possible for a woman to feel protected - he will protect, protect and bring trophies of war to her feet. This is what happens in a fairy tale. Hoffman describes the decisive battle between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King briefly: “At midnight, she (Marie) heard some strange commotion in the living room - a jingling and rustling... Marie jumped out of bed in horror. Everything was quiet..." There is no pomp and scale of descriptions of the very first battle. This is already a purely male world and his – the Nutcracker’s – victory. The Nutcracker gives 7 golden crowns of the mouse king - a war trophy - to Marie and dedicates his triumph to her.
The female archetypal plot of a fairy tale is the Savior. In this story, the heroine listens to her heart; it already has the image of a partner and a relationship program. It is no coincidence that among the variety of Christmas gifts, Marie unmistakably singles out the awkward doll - the Nutcracker. In the first battle with the mouse king, when the Nutcracker is on the verge of death, she saves his life, but by no means wins. This is just a break for the Nutcracker. Then, succumbing to the mouse king’s blackmail, she gives up all her valuables for the life of the Nutcracker - sugar dolls, picture books, a new dress... And this may be a trap of this plot - the desire to do for him, when the heroine is driven not by love, but by the idea of saving. Thanks to the fact that Marie had little fear and a lot of love in her heart, she acts differently. This story is about Love without pretensions.
Drosselmeyer tells the story of Princess Pirlipat, and this is another female story - The Picky Bride. Potential suitors are screened to ensure they meet certain requirements. The plot of “The Picky Bride” contains an idea that protects a woman: no matter how difficult the test, if the hero is the one, he will cope - and there will definitely be a wedding.
This tale also contains a plot of relationships. The hero and heroine meet, build a relationship, but they cannot be together. The Nutcracker is just a doll, a Christmas gift for children, and not a living person. He is in relation to Marie in another reality. Each of them goes through their own path, their own lesson. There are many trials on the path of the heroes, but they will end up together, already being more mature. There is an interesting moment at the end of the tale. When Marie finds herself on the very lake with swans that Drosselmeyer described to her, it turns out that she and Princess Pirlipat are one and the same person. “How wonderful it was to swim in a shell, wafted with the scent of roses... the golden-scaled dolphins raised their muzzles and began to throw out crystal streams... Marie looked into the fragrant waves - Ah,” she cried joyfully, clapping her hands, “look, dear Mr. Drosselmeyer: there is a princess Pirlipat! She smiles at me so tenderly... The Nutcracker sighed sadly and said: “Oh, priceless Mademoiselle Stahlbaum, it’s not Princess Pirlipat, it’s you.” Only you yourself, only your own charming face smiles tenderly from every wave.” Thus, it can be assumed that the story of Pirlipat and nephew Drosselmeyer is the prehistory of Marie and Prince Nutcracker. Therefore, the completion of this plot is the transition of relationships to a new quality.
In a fairytale therapeutic sense, Hoffmann's fairy tale can be used to solve many problems. There is a wonderful imagery in the fairy tale that can be identified in an original way, depending on the client’s problem. For example, the image of the mouse king can be used to work with fears and aggression. The seven heads of the mouse king - 7 specific fears of the client, listing them - awareness and then finding ways to overcome them in the psychological sandbox.
The Princess Pirlipat-Marie couple can be used as an example of personality integration. Any quality of character is dual and gives our actions a certain energy. This energy can be used to realize both the creative and destructive sides of a certain trait of our character. Exercise “Talking to a Shadow”
The fairy tale describes the paths of the heroes and their options for solving problems, and also shows the resources that they used. Here you can use the exercise “map of a fairy-tale land”, where the main plot points and “magic” objects that can help are indicated.
In family counseling, you can turn to the plot of the relationship and the idea that the completion of the plot is the transfer of the relationship to a new quality.
Feminine stories allow you to accurately identify your feelings. Exercise “3 favorite and 3 least favorite fairy tale heroes.”
The fairy tale contains the idea of transformation - the image of the Nutcracker. It can also symbolize a change in social roles-masks.
The fairy tale describes the plot of male initiation that the hero goes through. It can be used when working with teenagers. Various versions of male archetypal tests are contained in the game “Knights of the Round Table”, based on the stories of the legendary King Arthur (author T.D. Zinkevich - Evstigneeva). The game allows you to solve diagnostic and therapeutic problems in working with adolescents.
One of the most famous Russian ballets. A story told by music that there is a place for miracles in the world of burghers. Through the efforts of composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) and librettist Marius Petipa, Hoffmann's fairy tale about the love of a kind girl and an enchanted youth turned into a dream ballet. “The Nutcracker” divided the history of ballet into “before” and “after”, also becoming the most famous ballet on the theme.
Literary basis
Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann's fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" was published in 1816. Later it was included in the second section of the first volume of Hoffmann’s collection “The Serapion Brothers” (1819–1921). In this book, the narrator of the tale of the Nutcracker, the writer made one of the members of the literary “brotherhood” - Lothar, whose prototype is usually considered to be the writer Friedrich de la Motte Fouquet, the author of the famous fairy tale “Ondine”.
The Nutcracker described in the fairy tale is both a toy and a tableware for cracking nuts. Such figurines, called Nussknacker, have been common in Germany and Austria since the 18th century.
Hoffmann's manner of whimsically combining two worlds in one text - the real and the fantastic - also manifested itself in "The Nutcracker": the senior court adviser Drosselmeyer turns out to be a court watchmaker from the semi-fairy-tale Nuremberg, and the wooden nutcracker is the prince of Marzipan Castle. Unlike other fairy tales by Hoffmann (“The Golden Pot”, “Little Tsakhes”, “Lord of the Fleas”), in “The Nutcracker” there are practically no ironic motives addressed to the main characters - this is one of the most poetic texts in Hoffmann’s work.
The first two Russian translations of The Nutcracker appeared almost simultaneously, both in 1835. However, they were not the basis for the ballet libretto. In 1844, Hoffmann’s tale was retold in his own way by Alexandre Dumas (“The Story of the Nutcracker”). He freed Hoffmann's whimsical fantasy from many plot details, and made the Nutcracker Prince a dashing knight, somewhat similar to the heroes of his own novels. It was Dumas’ version that was imposed on Tchaikovsky and choreographer Marius Petipa by the director of the imperial theaters, Ivan Vsevolozhsky. Petipa set to work on the libretto.
Libretto
At the first stage, Petipa planned to introduce revolutionary themes into the ballet, even using the melody of “Carmagnoles” in one of the fragments. It was 1891, literally just the centenary of the French Revolution. From Petipa's plans for The Nutcracker: “A crowd of open men. Carmagnole. Let's dance Carmagnola! Long live the sound of guns! Queen's paspier. Good luck, dear du Mollet." The latter are words from a children's song, alluding to the flight of Charles X to England after the July Revolution of 1830 in France.
But we remember that the story about the Nutcracker came to Petipa from the directorate of the imperial theaters. A ballet with a revolutionary theme would be denied access to the imperial stage. So all revolutionary motives were expelled from Petipa's final script.
The Hoffmann-Dumas plot also suffered: the entire backstory of the enchanted young man was dropped from the fairy tale. But the overall outline of the story has become compact and harmonious. In the first act, the main character receives a Nutcracker as a gift, who, at nightfall, together with the tin soldiers, fights against the mice led by the Mouse King. At the end of the first act, the girl saves the Nutcracker, he turns into a handsome prince and leads the girl with him to a fairyland. In the finale she wakes up - it was just a dream.
Scene from the ballet “The Nutcracker”. Mariinsky Theatre, 1892
Many motifs from Petipa's libretto are omitted from most productions of The Nutcracker. For example, a snowstorm that hits the main characters (after all, happiness can only be achieved by going through trials) usually turns into a harmless “waltz of snowflakes.” The toy trampoline, which pushes tin soldiers onto the stage, ready to fight with mice, disappears. The famous Adagio in the original is danced not by the main character and the Prince, as one might think, but by the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince Orshad, who was already renamed Prince Whooping Cough at the premiere (translated from French as “favorite”).
In Hoffmann's fairy tale, the name of the main character is Marie, and one of her dolls is called Clara. Petipa named the girl herself Clara. The difficulties with the name did not end there: in Soviet times, a tradition arose to call the main character the Russified name Masha. Then they began to call the heroine in the Hoffmannian way - Marie. The name Clara, which appears in Petipa's script and Tchaikovsky's score, should be considered authentic.
Music
The music was difficult to compose. In February 1891, Tchaikovsky informed his brother: “I am working as hard as I can, I am beginning to come to terms with the plot of the ballet.” In March: “The main thing is to get rid of ballet.” In April: “I carefully exerted all my strength to work, but nothing came out except abomination.” Even later: “What if it turns out that... ‘The Nutcracker’ is disgusting...”
P. I. Tchaikovsky, 1893
The early 1890s became a time for the composer to reflect on life and death. In 1891, his sister Alexandra Davydova-Tchaikovskaya died, and he took her death very painfully. Ahead were the composer's most tragic works - "The Queen of Spades" and the Sixth Symphony. In recent years, musicology has expressed the idea that “The Nutcracker” is a work from the same series, a ballet about death and immortality, and everything that happens to the heroine happens in some other world. Perhaps the snowstorm is a metaphor for the transition from earthly life to another state, and Confiturenburg is paradise. In the Waltz of the Snow Flakes and in the famous Adagio, by the way, there is very scary music, even though it is in a major key.
The first part of the ballet is pure action. The second, with the exception of the finale, is a usual divertissement for ballet of that time. The idea of a confectionery divertissement in Confiturenburg, the city of sweets, did not particularly appeal to Tchaikovsky himself; however, he coped with the task brilliantly.
There are several layers to the music of The Nutcracker. There are scenes for children and adults, fantastic and romantic, and there are divertissement dances. The music contains many allusions to the culture of the 18th century: for example, the gallant Dance of the Shepherdesses, and the Chinese dance, which is rather pseudo-Chinese (there is a term “chinoiserie”, that is, “Chinese”). And the romantic fragments, which are most associated with the emotional sphere, become for the composer an occasion for personal, very intimate statements. Their essence is not easy to decipher and very interesting to interpret.
On the path of symphonizing music, the composer went very far even in comparison with “Swan Lake” (1876) and “Sleeping Beauty” (1889). The composer frames the divertissement that the choreographer demanded of him with music saturated with genuine drama. The scene of the growth of the Christmas tree in the first act is accompanied by music of a symphonic scale: from the alarming, “nightly” sound, a beautiful, endlessly flowing melody grows. The culmination of the entire ballet was the Adagio, which, according to Petipa's plan, was danced by the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince Orshad.
In March 1892, a suite from the ballet was presented to the public. It was a great success: out of six numbers, five were repeated at the request of the public.
First interpretation
The Nutcracker and Petipa missed each other. It is believed that the choreographer, depressed after the death of his daughter, transferred all the work to his assistant Lev Ivanov. In collaboration with him, Tchaikovsky completed his ballet.
Subsequently, after the premiere, newspapers reported that Petipa intended to present a new version of it. However, these plans were not destined to come true: the choreographer never returned to his project.
The ballet premiered on December 6 (December 18, New Style) 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on the same evening as the opera Iolanta. The roles of Clara and Fritz were performed by children studying at the St. Petersburg Imperial Theater School.
The question of how many of Petipa's ideas were transferred into Ivanov's choreography is debatable. Ivanov mainly illustrated the plot, not paying attention to the dramatic possibilities of the score. It was with him that the snowstorm turned into a harmless waltz of snow flakes. Critics called the second act of the ballet vulgar: the ballet dancers, dressed in rich brioche buns, were perceived as a challenge to good taste. Tchaikovsky himself was also dissatisfied with the production. The last time Ivanov’s performance was revived was in 1923, after which he disappeared from the stage of the Mariinsky Theater forever.
Other interpretations
A new look at Tchaikovsky's ballet was presented by choreographer Alexander Gorsky and artist Konstantin Korovin (1919, Bolshoi Theater). In their performance, the stage was a set table with a huge coffee service, from which the dancers emerged. In the finale, Gorsky left Clara in a mystical dream. Instead of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince Whooping Cough, Gorsky gave Adagio to little heroes - Clara and Prince Nutcracker. This idea turned out to be so good that it firmly took root in Russia.
K.A. Korovin. Prop design for the ballet “The Nutcracker” by P.I. Tchaikovsky. Chinese house. 1919, Tretyakov Gallery
Vasily Vainonen went even further. He corrected Petipa's plot, forcing the children to grow up in the finale of the first act, and revealed in the ballet the story of a girl who fell in love with an ugly doll (he named her Masha, and this name took root in Russian productions for a long time). Following Gorsky, Vainonen removed Whooping Cough with the Sugar Plum Fairy. The overall tone of the performance was light; it was the perfect children's show with fantastic magic tricks, colorful puppets and a Christmas tree sparkling with festive lights. The choreographer ignored the tragic motives. In the finale, the Nutcracker and Masha, as expected in a fairy tale, turned into the Prince and Princess. This performance has become a kind of emblem of the Mariinsky Theater.
Yuri Grigorovich, starting from Tchaikovsky's music, once again rewrote the libretto, borrowing the best ideas from Gorsky and Vainonen. Grigorovich was the first in Russia to create a philosophical parable from The Nutcracker about the unattainability of ideal happiness. In this performance, Masha, who said goodbye to her childhood in a dream, woke up in her room in the finale - again a girl and again among toys. This story was set to Tchaikovsky’s music with amazing precision and harmony, revealing its dramatic potential.
Meanwhile, the tradition of the magnificent pre-revolutionary “Nutcracker” was continued by the great ballet reformer George Balanchine, the creator of plotless choreographic productions, who had a significant influence on the development of the choreographic school in the USA (1954, New York City Ballet). Once upon a time, while still a student at the ballet school in St. Petersburg, he participated in the very performance that disappointed Tchaikovsky. Many years later, he decided to build on Ivanov’s ideas and stage a magnificent divertissement, in which the plot itself was relegated to the background. Balanchine's children, having found themselves in confectionery heaven, remain children and look at the miracles happening from the outside. The Adagio is danced by the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier (as Balanchine called Prince Whooping Cough). Although the choreographer did not delve into the philosophical meanings of Tchaikovsky’s music, his version became the most popular in the United States: many American directors of “The Nutcracker” are still guided by it.
In 1973, the ballet “The Nutcracker” was combined with the art of animation (the cartoon director was Boris Stepantsev). The audience was amazed - and still is - by the imagination of its authors: in the initial episode a broom dances with Masha, and in the Waltz of the Flowers the Prince and Masha fly into the skies, like Chagall's heroes. And even though the main character, contrary to Hoffmann, Dumas and Petipa, turned into a servant girl, this version of “The Nutcracker” became no less classic in Russia than Grigorovich’s ballet.
Among the 21st century versions, we note the production of “The Nutcracker” by artist Mikhail Shemyakin and choreographer Kirill Simonov. The ideologist of the play, Shemyakin, took liberties with the plot, but latently resurrected the spirit of Hoffmann, staging the ballet as an evil grotesque about the kingdom of mice. In the finale, the rats eat Masha and the Nutcracker, who have turned into candied dolls.
The memory that the premiere of “The Nutcracker” took place on the same evening as the premiere of “Iolanta” prompted director Sergei Zhenovach to again combine these two works. In 2015, when he staged “Iolanta” at the Bolshoi Theater, he preceded it with a suite from “The Nutcracker” and forced the blind Iolanta to listen to the music of the ballet and empathize with it.
We can hear music from The Nutcracker not only in opera or concert halls. She sounds behind the scenes in many films (“Home Alone”), cartoons (“Tom and Jerry”), and television series (“Friends”).
Christmas ballet
There are several musical and stage works that are perceived all over the world as Christmas or New Year's. In Germany, this is the opera “Hansel and Gretel” by Engelbert Humperdinck (although its plot has nothing to do with Christmas), in Austria - the operetta “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss, in the USA and Russia - the ballet “The Nutcracker”.
“The Nutcracker”, Bolshoi Theatre, 2014
The American tradition of performing The Nutcracker for Christmas owes its origin to Balanchine. "The Nutcracker" in the USA is synonymous with Christmas and children's winter holidays. Any, even the smallest, ballet company, each ballet school, shows its own version of the ballet in December. In meaning, many of them go back to Balanchine’s magnificent production and differ little from each other.
In Soviet times, The Nutcracker was, for obvious reasons, considered a New Year's ballet. Many cultural phenomena, at least somewhat related to the Christmas holiday, in those years were tied to the New Year's theme. Tickets for New Year's performances of "The Nutcracker" at the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Mikhailovsky theaters, at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater were sold out long before the New Year.
After the 1990s, when Christmas again became an official holiday, the Nutcracker ballet instantly gained the status of the main Christmas ballet. And even though its content goes far beyond the scope of a religious holiday, “The Nutcracker” always gives viewers and listeners a real Christmas miracle.
Notes:
1 – townspeople, ordinary people
2 – 1811–1910; French and Russian ballet soloist, choreographer and teacher
3 – literary basis of a large musical composition
4- anonymous song, written in 1792, very popular during the French Revolution
5 – a drink made from nuts – almond milk
6 - selected fragments that made up a short cycle
7 – theatrical performance consisting of various dance numbers in addition to the main performance
8 – 1934 - Kirov Theater, 1938 - Bolshoi Theater
9 – 1966, Bolshoi Theater
10 – 2001, Mariinsky Theater
